Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA  


Call of the Wild by Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA

January 2018 - Call of the Wild

January 2018 - Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA

Original

About the Image(s)

I made this image on my annual fall trip to the Arkansas Ozarks where there is a fairly large herd of Rocky Mountail Elk. They often hang out in a large pasture in the early morning and an hour or so before sunset. The light is almost always low as the pasture is in a valley surrounded by the Ozark Mountains and the sun disappears quickly in the evening - even worse fall mornings are usually foggy. After a good number of years of trying this is probably the best light I have had when attempting this shot. Another bonus was that this big guy was not standing in front of a fence or other man made feature. I used the Canon 7DMII and Tamron 150-600mm lens at 600mm, on a tripod and using a Sidekick mount.
Settings were: ISO 800; f/6.3; 1/320 sec. You will see right away that I was fortunate to get this because typically, the shutter speed should be much higher; however, I know that when I go above ISO 800 with that camera the noise increases exponentially. If he hadn't been moving very slowly this would not have worked. In post processing I added contrast and clarity, brushed in luminance reduction in secific areas, sharpened the eye, cropped about 20 percent and added a subtle vignette. I am not sure what I want to do with this image as far as competition or marketing. I will be interested in your suggestions.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted




Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Very pleasing symmetry, contrast, and emotion in this image. The Elk's dark legs seem at one with the dark tree trunks above, and his light antlers and torso seem drawn from the light grass below. The Elk seems to be serenading a distant mate, and one can even see his breath forming the lyrics. I might try a bit more contrast to bring out the breath even more (perhaps spot highlights). It is impressive that even though the aperture was 6.3, the elk's body and antlers all are in focus. I have been having a very hard time achieving sharp focus with wide apertures and would appreciate tips for success. This image should fare well in competition AND marketing.   Posted: 01/08/2018 14:06:28
Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
Thanks for your comments, Judith. I wanted to respond to your issue about acievign sharp focus. I am guessing the issue is not the wide aperture as that is a typical choice for wildlife. The wide aperture lets us capture the subject sharply while getting enough bokeh in the background to minimize distraction from busy backgrounds.
I suspect that your difficulty stems from the way you are using auto focus. First, if you have not already done so, go into the menu and set the auto focus so that you can control it from the back button. Then you will shoot with your forefinger on the shutter button and your thumb on the back button. If I am not mistaken, you 80D has three autofocus options. Choose AI Servo, and if shooting moving subjects you will want to enable burst shooting.
Try to acquire focus on your subject as it moves into the scene. Put the main focus point on the eye and wait until the subject fills the frame then depress the shutter button. Maybe you already knew all this; if so, it will just take practice. Posted: 01/08/2018 17:16:48   Posted: 01/08/2018 17:17:21



 
My eye goes to that grand stack and from there to the buck's eye and face. Well captured. The processing is strong. I think you have captured his body quite well. The background has a great bokeh. I wonder if you could rework the grass to add a bit more structure and color to it? For me it is a bit bright. Otherwise this is a strong image.   Posted: 01/08/2018 17:21:38



Mike Cohen   Mike Cohen
Terrific work Sharon. I like everything about this image. The visible breathe (which I've tried unsuccessfully to capture well), pose, colors, background and composition. I appareciate Lisa's comment on the foreground but I like the brightness and lack of color there. It helps separate the elk. The only suggestion I can offer, having to search for something constructive to say, would be to slightly sharpen the eye a bit more and maybe bring a bit more detail back in the underbelly by lightening that area a bit, as long as it doesn't create an unsolvable noise problem. That said, this one's good to go as is.   Posted: 01/08/2018 18:03:19



Carol Sheppard   Carol Sheppard
(Group 95)
This image is beautiful, Sharon. There's instant a thing I would change about it. The subtle vignette, along with a perfect capture of his features, makes this a winner for me. I do think if you just HAD to change something, you could make the trees behind his head lighter, so give more contrast between his head and the background, but i actually like the foreground dry grass just as it is, no darker. It is a complement to the animal.   Posted: 01/09/2018 14:00:57



John Roach   John Roach
(Group 64)
Sharon, I can offer no suggestion for improvement. You have it. As a PSA member that has little interest in PSA competitions and exhibitions, I can't speak to that. I only do a few non-PSA competitions. But, I can speak that if you solo exhibit it as I do, or exhibits with groups in large print, or include it in your portfolio or choose to include it in any stock photography if so inclined for others to discern various acquisition or purchase interest, it will get attention. I think it is that good.   Posted: 01/09/2018 19:25:31



 
Another wonderful image. The sharpness and clarity of the elk is perfect. You can even see his breath. Your settings were right on for this situation in the morning light. I wouldn't change a thing.   Posted: 01/24/2018 15:18:35